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Moneghetti to make sentimental return to Scotland for Glasgow 2014 as Australian Chef de Mission

March 31 - Steve Moneghetti was today unveiled as Australia's Chef de Mission for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

It will mark a sentimental return to Scotland for Moneghetti, 28 years after he made his international breakthrough there by claiming a bronze medal in the marathon, the last occasion the Games were held there, at Edinburgh in 1986, having only been a late inclusion in the Australian team.

It launched a career which saw Moneghetti finish second in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990, before winning gold at Victoria in 1994, and a bronze in the 10,000 metres at Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

"I have a strong affection for the Commonwealth Games and for Scotland as the place where I began my career," he said.

"That makes having this chance to lead the Australian team at Glasgow even more special.

"I was the final person to be selected for the Australian team when the Games were last held in Scotland and this time I'm the first,"

Steve Moneghetti wins gold in the Commonwealth Games marathon at Victoria 1994

It will be the second consecutive occasion that 50-year-old Moneghetti has fulfilled the Chef de Mission's role, having held the same position at New Delhi in 2010, when Australia finished top overall with a total of 177 medals, 74 of them gold.

"I owe a lot to the Commonwealth Games," said Moneghetti.

"While Delhi had its complications and its challenges, none of that was to do with the athletes or the competition.

"Being passionate about sport and the human element of sport I was delighted to think that the outcomes from Delhi were a lot better than a lot of the athletes expected.

"Having not been in such a high-level management position before I was learning a lot of things on the job.

"This time I'll certainly be more hands on.

"Winning medals is getting tougher as the standard of competition gets stronger.

"With the Home Nations [England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales] coming off such a successful Olympics [at London 2012], and several other Commonwealth nations looking to chip away at Australia's medal dominance, every medal will be a hard fought battle."

Four years before New Delhi, at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Moneghetti had been the Mayor of the Athletes' Village.

Steve Moneghetti, in grey suit, leading out Australia's team at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi

Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief executive Perry Crosswhite said it was an advantage for the athletes to have someone of Moneghetti's experience and leadership qualities in such a key role within the team at the Games, which are due to take place between July 23 and August 3.

"Steve continues to be one of the most respected names in Australian sport and will be a great ambassador and spokesperson for the team in the lead-up to and during the Games," said Crosswhite.

"As Chef de Mission at Delhi 2010, Steve demonstrated his leadership qualities and ability to motivate those around him by keeping the team focused on performing in an undoubtedly challenging environment.

"We are delighted that he was keen to take on the role again in 2014 where his experience in representing Australia as an athlete, a coach and most recently as Chef de Mission, gives him a unique understanding of what it takes to succeed in the Games environment."

Other key roles in the Australian Commonwealth Games team announced today were Diane Gallagher as team general manager and Dr Grace Bryant as medical director.

Gallagher has been involved with the Australian Team in every Games since 2002, most recently as the assistant team general manager at both Delhi 2010 and Melbourne 2006.

She takes over the lead team managerial role previously occupied by Crosswhite at Delhi 2010.

Bryant has been head doctor with the Australian team at every Games since 1998 and is a member of the Australia Commonwealth Games Medical Commission.

She takes over the medical director role previously occupied by Dr Peter Harcourt.

Timeline

About the author

Duncan Mackay is the editor of insidethegames.biz. Awards include British Sports Writer of the Year in 2004, British News Story of the Year in 2004 and British Sports Internet Reporter of the Year in 2009. Mackay is one of Britain's best-connected journalists and during the 16 years he worked at The Guardian and The Observer he regularly broke a number of major exclusive stories, including the news that British sprinter Dwain Chambers had tested positive for banned performance enhancing drugs.

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Fact of the day

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